Larose Lift Bridge to open Friday

Tuesday

Mar 5, 2013 at 4:41 PMMar 6, 2013 at 10:21 AM

The Larose Lift Bridge will open Friday after months of construction delays, state transportation officials say.

Xerxes WilsonStaff Writer

The Larose Lift Bridge will open Friday after months of construction delays, state transportation officials say.A ceremony at the new, six-lane bridge, attended by state and local officials, will mark the opening at 3 p.m. Friday.The bridge is being opened permanently and will provide a more efficient route for oil-and-gas industry trucks heading to and from Port Fourchon, said Henri Boulet, director of the La. 1 Coalition, which advocates for improvements to the highway. Work began on the $30 million project in July 2010. It is being paid for through federal stimulus money.The bridge’s opening has been delayed multiple times due to required technical adjustments to ensure the bridge’s lifting mechanisms functioned properly. The bridge, built by Baton Rouge-based James Construction, will connect La. 308 and La. 1 to La. 3235 through West 15th Street.The bridge is meant to replace the aging pontoon bridge a quarter mile up Bayou Lafourche from the new span.Chett Chiasson, executive director for the Greater Lafourche Port Commission, said the 800-1,000 trucks that move goods to and from Port Fourchon each day will benefit.“We will be able to sort of get out of the way of La. 1 and La. 308 corridors where all the residents live and get those goods to the port easily,” Chiasson said.James Construction has been acquiring $5,000 fines for each calendar day the Larose bridge and Prospect Street Bridge in Houma were not completed unless the delays are deemed reasonable according to the contract’s terms.The Prospect Street Bridge opened temporarily last week after seeing similar delays. The bridge will only be open while the department waits six to seven weeks to receive mechanical and electrical components needed to complete the project.Once the new parts come in, the Prospect Bridge is expected to close to traffic again for about a week while the parts are installed and tested, said Chris Rogers, Department of Transportation and Development project engineer.The work will include replacing plugging switches on the upper machinery platforms, which act to reverse the main drive motors when the bridge deck is lowered into place, Rogers said. This is a secondary braking system that helps lower the deck gently.Rogers said he’s optimistic the wait during the parts installation won’t exceed a week, but he will have a better estimate as the date gets closer.